Disc washing machine



June 11, 1963 B. JAFFE ETAL DISC WASHING MACHINE 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 FiledMay 2, 1961 IN VEN TORS Balm/mu JAM-15 BY Arm/025a flYTa/e WFM ATTORNEYSJune 11, 1963 B. J'AFFE ETAL msc WASHING MACHINE 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 FiledMay 2, 1961 IN VEN TOR. BFA/JAMIA/ JAFF BY Auomsw 72 00 Q MLM Arm/MfrsJunell, 1963 B. JAFFE ETAL 3,093,149

DISC WASHING MACHINE Filed May 2, 1961 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 8 INVENTOR.

BIA/anxm/ t/AFFE Alva/emu Error BY h w A June 1963 B. JAFFE ETAL DISCWASHING MACHINE 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed May 2, 1961 m wt @M,%M KM UnitedStates Patent 3,093,149 DISC WASHING MACHINE Ben amin Jaife, Delhi,N.Y., and Andrew Textor, Sussex, N.J., assignors to Deltown Foods,Incorporated, Yonkers, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed May 2,1961, Ser. No. 107,188 9 Claims. (Cl. 134-149) This invention relates tothe art of washing machines, more particularly of the type to wash thediscs used in centrifugal type milk separators.

As conducive to an understanding of the invention, it is noted thatcentrifugal separators, such as the type used in the milk industry andput out by the DeLaval Separator Company under their Model No. 425, forexample, utilize a large number of frusto-conical members, generallycalled discs in the trade. These discs, which number over 125 in theModel 425 separator, above mentioned, are mounted in nested position ona disc carrier which comprises a frusto-conical base having an axialspindle extending upwardly therefrom and which extends through an axialopening in the smaller diameter end of each of the discs.

The discs are clamped together with but a slight clearance therebetweenand in conventional operation of the separator, the milk is forcedthrough aligned openings in the base of the carrier and the wall of thediscs, the latter being rapidly rotated to hurl any foreign bodies orsolid matters outwardly toward the wall of the chamber in which thediscs are rotating. Because of the close tolerances between thejuxtaposed nested discs, material that is too heavy or too large to bethrown out laterally, sticks between the discs and eventually will clogthe latter. As a result, the equipment must periodically be stopped andthe discs removed for cleaning.

Where the discs are removed one by one from the disc carrier and thenare scrubbed by hand to remove impurities, in view of the relativelylarge number of discs, such operation is time-consuming and requires theconstant efforts of a workman which therefore is a relatively expensiveoperation.

It is accordingly among the objects of the invention to provide anequipment for washing the multiplicity of discs of a centrifugalseparator without need for removing the discs from their carrier andwithout need for manual scrubbing of the individual discs, which washingequipment is dependable in operation and will thoroughly clean the discsand is not likely to cause damage to the individual discs resulting fromtheir removal from the carrier on which they are normally mounted.

According to the invention these objects are accom plished by thearrangement and combination of elements hereinafter described and moreparticularly recited in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings in which are shown one of, various possibleembodiments of the several features of the invention:

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of the disc carrier and theextension units,

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the washing tank,

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 2,

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line 44 of FIG. 2 showing theequipment in operating position,

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line 5-5 of FIG. 4,

FIG. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view of one of the extension units ona greatly enlarged scale,

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary detail view similar to FIG. 6 showing thelocking mechanism of the extension unit,

FIG. '8 is a sectional view taken along line 88 of FIG. 7,

FIG. 9 is a view similar to FIG. 8 taken along line 9-9 of FIG. 7,

FIG. 10 is a sectional view taken along line 101il of FIG. 2, and

FIG. 11 is a view taken along line 11-11 of FIG. 5.

Referring now to the drawings, the washing equipment which is thesubject of the present invention is designed to wash conventional discs11 of the type shown in FIG. 1, for example.

Thus, the discs are of sheet metal such as stainless steel and aresubstantially frusto-conical as shown, having a peripheral flange 12 atthe wider diameter end thereof. The smaller diameter end of the disc 11has an inwardly extending flange 13 with a plurality of notches 14therein, one of said notches, illustratively the notch 14a, being ofgreater width than the other notches, to serve as a keying conformationto insure that all of the discs will be properly aligned as hereinafterdescribed.

The disc carrier 16 shown in FIGS. 1 and 3 comprises a substantiallyfrusto-conical base 17 which has an axial stem or spindle 18 rising fromthe smaller diameter end 19 of the base. As shown in FIG. 1, the stem 18is sub-.

stantially square in cross section having-beveled corners 21 designed tocoact with the recesses 14 in flange 13, one of said beveled corners 21abeing of greater width than the others and designed to coaot with thelarger recess 14a in flange 13. Thus, when the discs are positioned onthe stem, all of the openings 22 in the discs will be in properalignment and the plurality of flat rivet heads 23 extending outwardlyfrom the surface of each disc, serve to space the nested juxtaposeddiscs from each other by a relatively small clearance to permitdischarge of milk therebetween. I

The upper end 24 of the stem 18 desirably has slots 25 extendingtherethrough at right angles to each other and the discs are designed tobe positioned on the disc carrier substantially up to the level of thelower end 26 of said slots.

The base 17 of the disc carrier has an axial recess 27 therein and arelatively large wall thickness, said wall having a plurality of bores28 extending therethrough. As is clearly shown in FIG. 3, the boresextend at an acute angle toward the end 24 of the stem 18, with respectto the axis of the disc carrier, and four equidistantly spaced :boresare illustratively provided, said bores 28 being aligned with theopenings 22 in the discs when the latter are positioned on the stem 18of the disc carrier.

The discs are washed in a tank 31 shown in FIGS. 2 4, and 5, whichpreferably is of stainless steel. The tank has parallel side and endwalls 32, 33 and 34, 3'5 and a floor 36. The tank is suitably supportedon up right legs 37 and the floor of the tank desirably inclinesdownwardly slightly from end wall 34 to end wall 35 so that liquidin thetank may be discharged through a port 38 in the floor adjacent end wall35.

Secured to each of the side walls 32, '33 of the tank, substantiallymidway between the top and bottom thereof and closer to end wall 34 thanthe end wall 35 are hearing blocks 39 and 41, each of which mounts asubstanitally U-shaped or arcuate bracket 42 which serves as a bearing,said brackets being transversely aligned and in the same horizontalplane.

The brackets v42 serve as the pivotal mount for a transfer unit 43which, as shown in FIG. 4, comprises a central hub 44, illustratively asleeve which has extending outwardly therefrom, at right angles to theaxis of the hub and secured to the latter as by welding, twolongitudinally aligned shafts 45 and 46. To reinforce the unit a pair ofrigid plates 47 are welded as at 48 to the hub 44 and to the shafts 45,46 respectively. The hub has affixed therein a bushing 51 and aninwardly extending annular flange 52, the inner periphery of which has adiameter less than the diameter of the bushing 51.

The ends of the shafts 45, 46 are designed to rest in the U-shapedbrackets 42 and the end of shaft 45 has a diametric bore 53 therethrough(-FIG. adaptedto be aligned with a vertical bore 54 in the associatedbracket 42 so that when a pin 55 is inserted through said aligned bores,the hub 44 will be retained in vertical position for the purposehereinafter to be described.

Affixed to the end wall 35 of the tank centrally located thereon andpositioned substantially midway between the top and bottom thereof is ablock 56 which mounts a U-shaped bearing bracket 57. The bracket 57 isarcuate and has its axis longitudinally aligned with the axis of the hub44 of the transfer unit when such hub is pivoted through an angle of 90so that its longitudinal axis is in horizontal position.

The end wall 34 of the tank has secured thereto substantially midwaybetween the bottom and top thereof and centrally located thereon, a hub61 through which extends a shaft 62, the latter being longitudinallyaligned with the longitudinal axis of hub 44 when the latter is inhorizontal position.

Secured to the inner end of the shaft 62 is a coupling sleeve 63 whichhas diametrically opposed notches 64 in the free end thereof, thepurpose of which will be hereinatfer described.

The end of shaft 62 extending through the wall 34 of the tank, mounts asprocket wheel 65 connects by a sprocket chain 66 to a sprocket wheel 67driven by motor M. The shaft 62 also extends through the wall 68 of ahousing 69 and mounts a knob 71 at its outer end. The shafts 62 is keyedto sprocket wheel 65 so that it may slide through the hub 72 thereof,said wheel being restrained from axial movement by the walls 34 and 68.Thus, the shaft 62 may be moved inwardly and outwardly for the purposehereinafter set forth.

Mounted on the floor of the tank is a spray system 75 which includes twopipes, 76, 77, extending parallel to the side walls 32 and 33 andinwardly spaced therefrom and terminating in a feed pipe 78 whichextends through the end wall 35 of the tank below the bearing 57 and isconnected to the outlet of a pump P, the inlet of which is connected byline 79 to drain port 38.

Desirably, a discharge line 81 having a valve 82 therein is connected toline 79 so that the tank can be emptied after the cleaning operation iscompleted.

Rising vertically from each of the parallel pipes 76 and 77 and spacedtherealong are vertical pipes 84, the upper ends of each of which mountsa spray nozzle 85. As is clearly shown, the spray nozzles on therespective parallel pipes 76, 77 are directed inwardly at an angle andthe vertical pipes 84 on each of the parallel pipes 76 and 77 arestaggered with respect to each other for maximum uniform distribution ofwater from the spray nozzles.

Adapted to be operatively connected to the disc carrier 16 to permitmounting thereof with the discs thereon in the tank, are extension units91 and 92.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 4, the extension unit 91 comprises a hub 93having a threaded bore 94 adapted to receive the correspondinglythreaded portion of a shaft 95. Secured to one end of the hub as bywelding, is a disc 96, illustratively of greater diameter than that ofthe hub and having an axial opening through which the shaft extends.Secured to the surface of the disc on the side thereof remote from thehub are diametrically aligned hinge brackets 97, each of which pivotallymounts one end of a locking arm 98, the free ends of the latter beingmovable toward and away from the shift 95 and each mounting on its outersurface a locking pin 99.

The end 101 of the shaft 95 between the arms 98 has secured thereto adisc 102 which, when the shaft 95 is rotated to move the disc 102 awayfrom disc 96, will react against the inner sides of the arms 98 tendingto urge them apart on their pivotal mounts. The other end of the shafthas a pin 103 extending diametrically therethrough and designed to beaccommodated in the diametric slots 64 in sleeve 63 of shaft 62. Inaddition, the end of shaft 95 adjacent the pin 103 has flats 104 thereonto permit rotation of the shaft 95 by a suitable tool for the purposehereinafter to be described.

The extension unit 92 (FIG. 6) comprises a shaft 105 which issubstantially rectangular in cross section, having beveled corners 106,one of said beveled corners 106a being greater in width than the others.More particularly, the cross sectional configuration of the extensionshaft 105 is substantially identical to that of the stem 18 of the disccarrier 16. The shaft 105 has an axial bore 107 extending longitudinallytherethrough. One end of the bore 107 mounts a fixed bushing 108 inwhich is rotatably mounted a sleeve 109 having an internally threadedportion .11 at its inner end. The outer end of the sleeve 109 extendsbeyond the bore 107 and mounts a disc 112 inwardly spaced from suchouter end as shown. The portion of the sleeve 109 between the disc 11 2and the outer end of the sleeve has secured thereto a collar 1 13 ofsuitable rigid plastic.

The threaded end of the sleeve 109 is designed to accommodate thecorrespondingly threaded, reduced diameter end 115 of a rod 116 whichextends through the bore 107. The rod 116 is so mounted that it isrestrained from rotation, yet it is free to move longitudinallydepending upon the direction of rotation of the sleeve 109. This may beaccomplished by means of a pin 117 extending through the wall of theshaft 105 into a longitudinal slot 118 in the rod 116.

The inward movement of rod 116 is limited by a collar 118 affixed in thebore 107 of shaft 105 and against which abuts the shoulder 119 definedby the reduced diameter portion 115.

As shown FIG. 6, the outer end of rod 116 is bifurcated as at 121 and apin 122 extends through the outer extremity of the bifurcated portion.

Pivotally mounted as at 123 to the end 124 of the shaft 105 on axesextending parallel to the axis of the pin 122 and straddling the latter,are locking fingers 125 which are identical as shown and which arepositioned in slots 126 in the end 124 of shaft 105. The locking fingershave substantially straight surfaces 127 along their inner edges andthen are beveled away from each other as at 128. The outer edge of eachof the fingers has an elongated notch 129 defining a curved locking edge31 at the end thereof remote from the pivot 123, the function of whichwill be hereinafter described. As is clearly shown in FIG. 6, when therod 116 is in its retracted position, the locking fingers 125 will befree to pivot inwardly so that the maximum width of the extensionsthereof is less than the diameter of the axial bore 132 in the upper endof the stem 18 into which slots 25 extend, so that such fingers are freeto enter such bore as shown.

In order that the discs may be washed, after the separator is opened,the disc carrier 16 may be removed by attaching the hook end 133 of acable 134 or the like through the slots 25 in the upper end of the stem18 and vertically lifting the disc carrier 16 with the discs thereon.Thereupon, the extension unit 91 is connected to the base 17 of the disccarrier 16. This is accomplished as shown in FIG. 4 by positioning thearms 98 of the extension unit 91 in the axial recess 27 in the base 17of the disc carrier so that the pins 99 are substantially aligned with apair of bores 28 as is shown. Thereupon, the shaft 95 is roated indirection to move the cam disc 102 against the pivoted arms 98 to urgethe latter outwardly and such rotation is continued until the pins 99enter the bores 28 and the arms 98 are securely retained against thewall surface of recess 27 so that the shaft 95 will be rigidly connectedto the disc carrier 16.

Thereupon, by means of the cable 134 which is still connected to theupper end of the stem 18 of the disc carrier 16, the disc carrier 16with the disc 11 thereon and with the extension unit 91 affixed theretoas previously described, is positioned directly over the hub 44 of thetransfer unit 43 in the tank 31 which at this time is emptied of anyliquid. The disc carrier and associated extension unit 91 is thenlowered so that the shaft 95 enters the hub passing through the bushing51 and the bore of flange 52 until the hub 93 rests on such flange.While this operation is carried on the pin 55 extends through the end ofthelshaft 45 and the aligned opening in bearing 42 so that the hub ofthe transfer unit will be retained in vertical position.

Thereupon, the hook 133 of the cable 134 is removed from the upper endof the stem 18 of the disccarrier 16, the latter still remaining invertical position by reason of the vertical position of'the hub 44 ofthe transfer unit.

The extension unit 92 is then connected to the upper end ofthe stem.This is accomplished by first rotating the sleeve 109 so that the rod116 is retracted to move the pin 122 thereof outwardly so that thefingers '125 will be free to move toward each other as shown in FIG. 6.Thereupon, the shaft 105 is positioned over the upper end of stem 18with the keying pin 136 in notch 137 so that the larger width bevelededge 106a is in alignment with the corresponding beveled edge of thestem 18. With the free ends of the locking fingers 125 pushed togetherthey will be of narrow enough width so that they may freely enter thebore 132 at the upper end of the stem 18. Thereupon, the sleeve 109isrotated to move rod 116 inwardly to the position shown in FIG. 7thereby first causing the pin 122 to engage the beveled surfaces 128 ofthe locking fingers 125 to cam the latter outwardly so that they enterthe slots 25 in the upper end of the stem 18 of the disc carrier 16,i.e., they enter opposed slots. The length of the locking fingers 125and the length of the slots 25 are so arranged that when the lockingfingers are moved outwardly, the curved locking edge 131 thereof willengage the upper ends 138 of the slots securely to retain the extensionunit 92 and the stem 18 of the disc'carrier 16 together in properlyaligned position.

With 'the drive shaft 62 in retracted position, the pin 55 is removedand the transfer member 43 is then pivoted so that the disc carrier withits afixed extension units 91, 92 are in horizontal position with thecollar .113 resting in bearing 57 and with the free end; of shaft 95 inaxial alignment with the drive shaft 62. As the disc carrier andassociated discs are relatively heavy, in order to rotate the latter ina'clockwise direction on shafts 45 and 46 from the position shown inFIG. 2, a plate 150 is provided which, as shown in FIG. 11, has acentral aperture 151 corresponding substantially in configuration to thecross section of the shaft 105 so that the latter may pass through suchcentral aperture, said plate 150 being positioned on shaft 105 before itis affixed to the stem 18 as previously described. The plate 150 has anopening 152 at one end adapted to receive the hook 133 which ispositioned in the opening 152 when the disc carrier is in verticalposition. Thereupon, by releasing tension on the cable 134 after the pin55 holding the hub 44 in vertical position is removed and pushing on thedisc carrier, the latter may be rotated slowly to its horizontalposition.

At this time the shaft 62 is moved inwardly so that the ends of pin 103will enter the diametrically opposed slots 64 in sleeve 63.

Thereupon, the hook 133 is removed and the plate 150 is moved to theright hand end of the shaft 105 abutting against disc 112. The discs 11are then distributed so that they extend the entire length of the stem18 as well as the shaft 105 thereby materially increasing the spacingbetween such discs 11 so that the surfaces thereof are accessible to thewater sprayed by the nozzles 85 in the manner hereinafter to bedescribed.

At this time the drive motor M driving the sprocket wheel 65 isenergized to cause rotation of the disc carrier, the discs thereon andthe associated extension units. Such rotation desirably is at arelatively low speed, illustratively, one-third of a revolution everyfive minutes.

The cleaning tank '31 is filled with water of sufficient depth so thatthe discs are completely submerged and a suitable cleaning solution isadded. The pump P controlling flow of water through the pipe system andthe spray nozzles is then started. Since the suction end of the pump isconnected to the bottom of the tank, a circulating action will beprovided and the force of the spray emitted from the spray nozzles willforce the liquid between and around the discs '11 so as to effect athorough cleaning thereof. This washing action is continued forapproximately 45 minutes to one hour without need for any supervisionwhatsoever.

At this time the pump P is stopped and tank 31 is emptied by openingvalve 82 and refilled with clear warm water and the operation isrepeated for say 15 minutes, i.e., the pump P will again circulate thewater from the tank and force such water through the spray nozzles.

Thereupon, the pump P is stopped and the tank is again emptied byopening the valve 82. The shaft 62 is again retracted to reiease shaft95. The hook 133 is again connected to the opening 152 in plate 150 andthe disc carrier 16 is pivoted to vertical position and retained in suchposition by means of pin 55 which is positioned through aligned openings53- and 54. The vertical positioning of the disc carrier 16 will causethe discs 11 automatically to restack themselves on the stem 18 of thedisc carrier 16 in their normal operating position without any manualoperation whatsoever to accomplish such stacking, except for thepivoting of the entire assembly as above described.

-At this time the extension unit 92 is removed from the stem of the disccarrier by rotating the sleeve 109 in direction to move the rod 116outwardly so that pin 122 will be between the beveled surface 128 oflocking fingers and no longer reacts against the fingers. Hence, bymerely pulling on the extension unit 92 the curved surfaces 131 of thefingers 125 will move by the ends 138 of the slots 25 in the stem 18 forcomplete disengagement of the extension unit and the stem.

The hook 133 is then positioned in the slots 25 and the disc carrier 16with the discs thereon is lifted vertically out of the hub 44 of thetransfer member 43. Thereupon, the extension unit 91 is removed byapplying a tool to the hats 104 on shaft'9'5 thereof and rotating suchshaft in direction to move the cam disc 102 inwardly and away a from thepivoted arms 98 so'th'at the latter will be free to, move inwardly sothalt'the pins 99 thereof will come out of the bores 28 in the base 17of the disc carrier '16. Thereupon, the disc carrier 16 and associateddiscs may be replaced in the centrifugal separator and the latter thencan be operated in conventional manner.

With the relatively simple equipment above described, it is apparentthat a set of discs may be washed with a minimum amount of working timethat an attendant must devote to such operation. Thus, the attendantwould only have to spend relatively few minutes, say about ten minutes,of actual working time with respect to the cleaning of each set of discsand consequently can wash a number of units in the time it normally tooksuch attendant to wash the discs of one unit, thereby effecting greateconomy and reducing the cost of the finished prodnot.

As many changes could be made in the above equipment and many apparentlywidely different embodiments of this invention could be made withoutdeparting from the scope of the claims, it is intended that all mattercontained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawingsshall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. Equipment for washing the frusto-conioal discs of a centrifugalseparator of the type in which the discs are mounted in nestedrelationship on the stem of a disc carrier, said equipment comprising afirst rigid extension unit, means releasably to connect said extensionunit to the free end of the stem to extend longitudinally thereof,whereby the discs on said stem may be spread over substantially thelength of said extension unit to separate said discs, a tank, means tosupport said disc carrier and connected extension unit in said tank insubstantially horizontal position, means to rotate said disc carrier andconnected extension unit and means -to force liquid between said spaceddiscs to clean the latter.

2. The combination set forth in claim 1 in which means are provided torestrain rotary movement of said discs on said first extension unit yetpermit longitudinal movement of said discs therealong.

3. The combination set forth in claim 1 in which the cross sectionalconfiguration of said extension unit is substantially identical to thatof the stern, said discs, said stem and said first extension unit havingcomplementary configurations to restrain rotation of he discs withrespect to the stem and said extension unit yet permit longiudinalmovement of said discs therealong.

4. The combination set forth in claim 1 in which said extension unitcomprises a shaft having a longitudinal bore therethrough, a rod in saidbore, said rod being threaded at one end, a sleeve in said bore havingan internally threaded bore accommodating the threaded end of said rod,said sleeve extending beyond said shaft, means to restrain rotation ofsaid rod yet permit longitudinal movement thereof when the sleeve isrotated, a pair of locking fingers each pivotally mounted at one end tothe shaft at the end thereof remote from the sleeve, means carried bythe rod to cam said fingers away from each other when said sleeve isrotated in direction to move said rod inwardly, the free end of the stemhaving a look ing conformation adapted to be engaged by said fingersrele-asably to connect the extension unit to said stem.

5. The combination set forth in claim 1 in which a second rigidextension unit is provided, means releasably to connect one end of saidsecond extension unit to the disc carrier to extend longitudinallythereof in direction opposed to the first extension unit and the meansto support said disc carrier comprises a transfer unit adjacent one endof said tank and having a hub, means rnunting said transfer unit forpivotal movement of the hub thereof between vertical and horizontalposition, said hub having an axial bore through which said secondextension unit extends, and a bracket mounted in said tank adjacent theother end thereof and longitudinally aligned with the bore of said hubwhen the latter is in horizontal position and adapted to receive thefree end of the first extension unit.

6. The combination set forth in claim 5 in which the bore in said huband the bracket define rotary bearings for the second extension unit andthe free end of the first extension unit respectively, and means torotate said disc carrier.

7. The combination set forth in claim 5 in which the bore in said huband the bracket define rotary bearings for the second extension unit andthe free end of the first extension unit, means to rotate said disccarrier, the means to clean said disc comprises a plurality of spraynozzles in said tank arranged in rows on each side thereof and adaptedto straddle the discs when the disc carrier is in horizontal position,and means to force liquid through said nozzles toward said discs.

8. The combination set forth in claim 5 in which the bore in said huband the bracket define rotary bearings for the second extension unit andthe free end of the first extension unit respectively, a shaft isslidably mounted in the end of the tank adjacent the transfer unit andis axially aligned with the bore of said hub when the latter is inhorizontal position, complementary means on the inner end of the shaftand the free end of the second extension unit for releasable connectionthereof and means to rotate said shaft.

9. The combination set forth in claim 5 in which the disc carrier is ofthe type having a frusto-conical base from which the stem extends, saidbase having an axial recess defining a wall having a plurality of borestherethrough, said second extension unit comprises a hub having a borehaving a threaded portion, a shaft extending through said bore andhaving a threaded portion coacting with the threaded portion of the boreof said hub, a pair of opposed locking arms each pivotally mounted atone end on an axis extending at right angles to the longintudal axis ofsaid shaft, the free ends of said arms being movable toward and awayfrom said shaft, a cam dis mounted on said shaft between said arms and alocking pin extending outwardly from each of said arms and adapted toenter to a pair of bores in said disc carrier base when the arms aremoved outwardly.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS526,448 Karschner Sept. 25, 1894 1,827,188 Burgess Oct. 13, 19312,225,501 Lapham Dec. 17, 1940

1. EQUIPMENT FOR WASHING THE FRUSTO-CONICAL DISCS OF A CENTRIFUGALSEPARATOR OF THE TYPE IN WHICH THE DISCS ARE MOUNTED IN NESTEDRELATIONSHIP ON THE STEM OF A DISC CARRIER, SAID EQUIPMENT COMPRISING AFIRST RIGID EXTENSION UNIT, MEANS RELEASABLY TO CONNECT SAID EXTENSIONUNIT TO THE FREE END OF THE STEM TO EXTEND LONGITUDINALLY THEREOF,WHEREBY THE DISCS ON SAID STEM MAY BE SPREAD OVER SUBSTANTIALLY THELENGTH OF SAID EXTENSION UNIT TO SEPARATE SAID DISCS, A TANK, MEANS TOSUPPORT SAID DISC